Thankful Day Nine - Girls

I love men. There are a lot of things about them I love. And perhaps one day, before the end of the month, I’ll be thankful for them. But today, I’m thankful for women. Girls.

I didn’t give birth to a daughter. I thought I was happy I hadn’t. They were a lot of trouble, those girls. Emotional, cranky . . . hormonal. I didn’t need it. I was a teenage girl, I said, I didn’t need to have one. I was wrong.

I adopted a girl. She was twenty-two or twenty-three when I did. So granted, I missed the teenage years. But still, she’s a girl. I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t what I got. I ended up loving this girl like my own daughter. Still do. She'll be here this afternoon, which is why I’m especially thankful for girls today.

But it isn’t just her. I love all my girls. I have the best friends any girl could ask for. And yes, I’m older than most would consider a girl to be. But I still am one. There are times I’m a lady, and I suppose other times I’m a woman, but if you ask me, I’m still a girl. I will be until the day I die, and I plan to live well into my nineties, maybe longer. And even then, I’ll still be a girl.

Back to my girls. My friends. I have so many. Too many to list individually. But if you look at Facebook, my posts, those who comment on them, or just like them . . . you’ll see. They’re my girls.

I have friends scattered around the country, but most of them are in California and New York, the two places I grew up. Many of them are girls I never thought I’d talk to let alone see again. For everyone who says they hate Facebook, think of the friends you are in touch with again, who you love, but never thought you would see again. Then ask yourself how many of them you found again because of Facebook. For me it is a high number.

Anyway, I’m thankful for my girlfriends, who read my books, give me support, humor me, laugh with me, understand me, appreciate me, give me shit or give me hell . . . who get me. Because they’re girls too.